Rotary pump



Patented Mar. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES HUGH MCNIFF AND HAROLD E. THOMPSON, `OF DNVER, COLORADO.

ROTARY rutile.,

Application lfded Maren To all whom '15 may concern: 1

Be it known thatI we, HUGH 'MoNiiir and HAnoui E. TiioMrsoN, citizens of the United States, residing at Denver, in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado,

have invented certain new and useful Imtrifugal force is employed for the' purpose ofl causing' the water to flow.

In places where large quantities of water must be raised from one level to another, as,

`for example,'in irrigating land, it is desirable to have a pump that is as simple as possible, which can be manufactured at a comparatively low pricefand which cannot be readily gotten out of order.

vIt is the object of this invention to produce a pump that shall be of extremely simple construction; that will have a large capacity, and that will be capable of pumpingv water mixed with dirt, sand, gravel and even small rocks.

The above objects are attained by means of a construction which, briefly described, comprises a vertical shaft mounted for rotation about its axis. Secured in spaced relation about the shaft are a. plurality of pipes whose lower ends terminate quite close to the shaft, but whose axes diverge upwardly so that when the shaft Yand pipes rotate,

-the locus of the axes of the pipes form the outer surface of an inverted, truncated cone. lVhen the lower ends of the pipes are immersed in water while rotation takes place, the centrifugal force -will cause the water to flow upwardly through the inclined pipes in a manner readily apparent and well understood. f l

Our invention can be 'most 'clearly described and will be mostreadily understood when reference is had to the accompanyingI drawing, in which the preferred embodiment thereof is shown, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section thro-ugh a. well, taken on line 1-1, Fig. 2, showing our pump 7,' i925.. serial 110.113,73.

in placetherein, portions of the-pump being'` broken away to better showv the construction; F ig. 2 is 'a top plan view of the pump; Fig. 3 is a view showing one of the pipes with parts thereof broken away; and I Fig. A4 is a vertical section throughjthe bearings of the shaft. Y Numeral 1 designates a well, which, from a. theoretical standpoint, may be of any depth, but which, for .practical reasons, must he comparatively shallow. About the well, on the surface 'of the ground, we provide a frame 2 which may be made of wooden planks, as shown, or ofnietal plates, or of any other suitable material including concrete. A bearing spider having four arms 3 are fastened to suitable standards 4, which are'secured to the frame Zby means such as bolts 5. arms 3, we have provided-anopening 6 for the reception ofthe vertical shaft 7. The,

lower portion of the opening 6 is provided with an enlargement 8 for the reception of secured to the upper end of-the'shaft 71 p Be- At the point of juncture of the' tween the lower side of the pulley' and the upper surface of the bearing spider, we pro'- vide a thrust bearing '12 (Fig. 4) upon which the weight of the shaft and associated parts are carried. At the bottom of the well, we prov-ide a second bearing which has been designated by the numeral 13. This hearing 7 in such a manner that they cannot rotate with respect thereto are ldisks* 18 and 19. The lower disk,` indicated by the numeral 18,

is smaller vin diameter than theupper disk.A y

Each dislg has an equal number of lio-les spaced equiangularly about the shaft 7; The distance from the center of thev disk 18 to the center of theholes therein is less than the corresponding distance in disk Pipes 2()V project through Correspending` holes inthetwo disks and are welded to the disks or otherwise prevented fronirotating about their own axis. The lower ends of the pipes are bent forwardly in the direction of shaped,.as indicated by thenumeral 21;

rotation and are somewhat flared or bell- The upper ends of the pipes are bent'outwardly and downwardly at points `22 and 23, re-

spectively. An vannular tank 24k is supported oir-suitable brackets 2vsecured to the liprlheV upper edge of the' outer wall of `the. tank is bent inwardly, a.

able source of power, is operatively connected to the pulleyV ll by means' of a belt .30. lNithin the pipes20 we prefer'to place helical strips 31 of metal Vwhich cause the water to travel in a spiral path asit flows upwardly.

For reasons which we do not fully under-v stand7 the Ystrips 3l appear to increase the efficiency of the pumps. Let us now assume that the well is filled with water to they line V32 'and' that the shaft 7 withv attached disk and pipes is rotated in the direction of the arrows in Fig. l.` rlChe water will' normally lill the pipes 20to the level ofthe water in the well. Vlhen the shaft 7 is rotated, the reaction between .the water and the ends Y2l will produce av pressure that will cause'the vwater Within the pipes to rise somewhat above thelevel 32. rlhe rotation of the pipes will produce a centrifugal force which causes the waterwithin the pipes to press outwardly against the pipes. rlhispressiu'e will resolveitself into a radial and a. vertical component and the latter, when it exceeds the opposing force of gravity, will Vcause the water to flow upwardly.

The water will soon reach the parts 22 where the'centrifugal force will greatly increasedV and this will be augmented bythe centrifugal force of the water inthe downturned ends 23. All of these forcescoinbine to make the water flow upwardly from` the well to ,the annular tank VWhen the lift is great, the speed of rota- Vtion must be greater than with aV lower lift or else the anglev between the axes of the pipes and thel axis of rotation must be in-4 creased., vThe'blad'es 17 tend'tofhold-the water against assumingv a rotary motion within the well.

in the, least interfering with the operation.

Having now described our invention, what .lower ends of said pipes being closer vtothe axis of rotation than the upper ends, where by any water that maybe in the pipes will be subjected to a centrifugal force, onel component of which will tend to make it flowupwardly, and means within said pipes forY making' the water travel within the pipes.

2. A pump comprising, in combination, a shaft mounted with its axis substantially perpendicular and adapted tof bel rotated, a

in a spiral path bearing for the lower end of said shaft, a

second bearing for. the upper end of .theshaft, `means for iota-ting the shaft, a plurality lof equidistantly spaced pipes secured to the shaft so as to be rotated therewith, the;

lower ends of' said pipes being closer tothe axis of rotation than the vupper ends,vwhere by any wa er that may be inthe pipes will be subjected to a centrifugal force, one com f ponent ofY which will tend to inake it flowv upwardly7 a spiral 4strip within said pipes for making the water travel in a spiral path within the pipes, and number of stationary vanes surrounding the lowervcnds of` .said pipes. Y y

8. A puinp comprising, in combination, a,

Vshaft mounted with its axis substantially perpendicular and adapted'to be rotated, a' bearing 4for the lower end of said shaft,

a second bearing for the upper end of theV` shaft. means for rotating the shaft a aluupwardly, ineansfcomprising a spiral stripr g the water travel in a spiral path withln the pipes, and a number' ot stationary vanes surlocated within said pipes for makin' rounding the lowerv ends of said pipes, the lower ends being bent so as to open inthe. direction" in which they rotate whiler the up per ends are bent outwardly and rearwart ly.

ln testimony whereof we aflixour signatures.

nnen' Meivirr'. Hanoi@ rrrioiursou. 

